Paper Reading #12: TeslaTouch: Electrovibration for Touch Surfaces

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: TeslaTouch: Electrovibration for Touch Surfaces
Author: Olivier Bau, Ivan Poupyrev, Ali Israr, Chris Harrison
Venue: UIST 

Summary:
The authors describe a new form of touch display called TeslaTouch which uses friction to give the user additional feedback about what objects they are interacting with on the screen. This is achieved by the use of a transparent electrode sheet. When a electronic signal is sent through the electrode sheet is creates a friction that the user can feel.

 By altering the frequency and amplitude of the electronic signal.Users reported that low frequency resulted in a rougher feeling like that of wood, while higher frequencies were smooth like paper. The effect of amplitude was dependent on the frequency. At high frequencies, higher amplitude increased smoothness. At low frequencies, higher amplitude resulted in a sticky feeling. A complete list of reported sensations is given below.

Discussion:
This is another technology that I found absolutely fascinating. This could be used in virtually any multi-touch application. Even simple uses such as moving a document could be made to feel like paper. I do question how much more expensive the TeslaTouch is than a normal multi-touch screen. While the paper makes note that this process is incredibly safe because of the low amount of electricity being used, I am curious if there is any chance of something short circuiting and causing possible harm to the user.

Paper Reading #11: Combining Multiple Depth Cameras and Projectors for Interactions On, Above, and Between Surfaces

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: Combining Multiple Depth Cameras and Projectors for Interactions On, Above, and Between Surfaces
Author: Andrew D. Wilson, Hrvoje Benko
Venue: UIST 

Summary:
The authors describe their creation of a room which has been fitted with multiple depth cameras and projection to create an environment in which the user can manipulate objects projected onto surfaces in the room. One type of interaction is the simple manipulation of a projector on one surface. In addition, by touching an object on one surface and then taping another surface, the user can move projections to the second surface. Another useful feature descirbed is the ability to hold projections in your hand. By dragging a projection off of the surface and into your hand it is transformed into a small ball. When you touch another surface with the ball in your hand, the projection is transfered to that surface. The last feature discussed is that of spatial menues. When you place your hand over a projected menu, you are given all the options in that menu. If you linger on a option for two seconds then that option is selected. The authors then discussed the technical details of how these interactions were designed. 

Discussion:
This technology really fascinated me. It reminds me of a movie (I think Minority Report) where the user was participating with projected objects that were hovering in mid air. It seems really futuristic and if it ever becomes affordable to fit a room with this equipment I would be very excited to get it myself. It is unfortunate that there are some issues with getting in the way of the projector or having too many users in a room at the same time, but I believe these kinks will be worked out eventually.

Paper Reading #10: Enabling Beyond-Surface Interactions for Interactive Surface with An Invisible Projection

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: Enabling Beyond-Surface Interactions for Interactive Surface with An Invisible Projection
Author: Li-Wei Chan, Hsiang-Tao Wu, Hui-Shan Kao, Ju-Chun Ko, Home-Ru Lin,
Mike Y. Chen, Jane Hsu, Yi-Ping Hung
Venue: UIST

Summary:
The authors describe the use of infrared techniques on a diffused illumination multi-touch system. Using this system, tangible objects can track their position in order to interact with the multi-touch table. The authors describe three specific objects that they implemented for this system. The first object is the i-m-Lamp, which is very similar in design to a desk lamp. The i-m-Lamp is used to enhance an area on the multi-touch table so that it is highly focused and easier to read.

The second device used was the i-m-Flashlight. This device functioned similarly to the lamp, however it could move freely and therefore offered greater mobility.

The last device created was the i-m-View which was a table that allowed for 3D viewing of the 2D surface projected onto the multi-touch table.

Users of these objects reported mostly positive experiences. One problem encountered with these objects was that users of the i-m-View felt isolated from the 2D surface on the multi-touch table as they became to immersed in the 3D tablet. To combat this, the authors created a yellow ring around the 3D objects on the tablet to represent where the bound were on the table.

Discusssion:
 At first, I was really confused as to what this paper was about. I originally though it was simply about using a lamp to bring objects into focus on a multi-touch surface. After reading it through a few times however, I realized these are simply examples of how the system could be used to interact with tangible objects through infrared techniques. While I was not too interested in the i-m-Lamp or i-m-Flashlight, I was very impressed by the i-m-View. It is easy to see how this system could be used with tangible objects to create a variety of practical devices.

Paper Reading #9: The IR Ring: Authenticating Users’ Touches on a Multi-Touch Display

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: The IR Ring: Authenticating Users’ Touches on a Multi-Touch Display
Author: Volker Roth, Philipp Schmidt, Benjamin Guldenring
Venue: UIST

Summary:
With the rise in usage of multi-touch display, there is a need to increase security with this technology. Users should not be able to send messages in the name of other users, or delete data of other users that share the multi-touch display. The author discusses security in the form of a small ring that could be worn which emits small pulses of light which the multi-touch display can than authenticate. The author continues to explain the specifics of the cryptography involved and also mentions that increasing the length of the light pulse dramatically increases the security.

Discussion:
This is a really awesome technology. The only downfall that I see is that someone could just steal the ring from you and they would have access to your system. Also, if you lose your ring are you permanently locked out of your system? Overall I found this paper thoroughly enjoyable and the technology seems very futuristic.

Book Reading #16 - Opening Skinner's Box

Chapter 4: In the Unlikely Event of a Water Landing

Summary:
The author starts by discussing how a girl was murdered in front of several witnesses that did nothing to help until the murder was already over. She then describes an experiment in which the researchers faked a seizure to see if people would help. It turned out that the more people the witness thought knew about the seizure, the less likely they were to help.

Discussion:
This was a great read. In my opinion people just think that someone else will take care of it and as a result they do not need to burden themselves by taking action.

Paper Reading #7: Real-time Interaction with Supervised Learning

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: Real-time Interaction with Supervised  Learning
Author: Rebecca Fiebrink
Venue: CHI 2010   

Summary:
The author begins by explaining the process that defines machine learning. She then explains that her work is specifically on improving a musical machine learning program. She discusses how programs on machine learning come from engineers and do not receive as much attention from musicians during creation. She therefore studied musicians using this program and came up with ways to improve it. Three ideas she came up with were interactive editing of training data, supporting use by non-experts, and real user priorities. In the future she wishes to do a more formal study of her improvements on the system.

Discussion:
I enjoyed reading about the work that the author is doing. One aspect of this work I like is that it is a creative use of engineering, much like dance.draw. Another aspect is the study of interfaces for people who are not engineers. I think it can be difficult to make programs for those who are not frequent users of technology. By studying those who are not good with technology we can find better ways to create interfaces for them.

Ethnography Results: Week 1

For the first week, we sat at a four way stop and made note of every traffic violation that occurred. We noted the vehicle type (car, truck, van, etc...), the color of the vehicle, gender of driver, and what violation occurred (drove out of turn, rolling stop, no stop, drove past the white line). We noticed a few patterns this first week. For one, a large amount (about 1/3) of the vehicles that violated traffic laws were some shade of silver. In addition every bike we saw with the exception of one ran right through the four way stop without any regard for the law. I am curious whether this is because bicyclists are unaware that they are supposed to stop, or if they simply do not care. We allowed for some leeway for all of the traffic violation so that the results were not biased. In other words if we noted that a car went past the white line at a four way stop, it had to be close to half the car over the line rather than just going slightly over. It is likely that this will not be our final ethnography idea because of the lack of interaction with the people in the study. It is also very difficult to obtain qualitative data.

Group Members: Jacob Lillard, Jimmy Ho

Paper Reading #6: Studying and Tackling Temporal Challenges in Mobile HCI

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: Studying and Tackling Temporal Challenges in Mobile HCI
Author: Joel E. Fischer
Venue: CHI 2010   

Summary:
The author begins by noting that interruptions from a mobile phone can be very troublesome. He then discusses ways that a phone could try to time its interruptions to be less troubling to the user. The author suggests using an adaptation of Harold D. Lasswell's formula of communication. The author would send messages to a user at random times asking the user to perform some task such as take a picture. The user would then rate how troublesome this task was and eventually the program would have a good idea of what times the person is more available to be interrupted.

Discussion:
This was by far my least favorite paper that I have read. Whenever I do not wish to be disturbed by my phone I simply put it on silent mode. If I am available I turn silent mode off. I think leaving it up to the machine is a recipe for disaster. This paper reminded me of the assigned reading in the design of future things.

Book Reading #11 - Design of Everyday Things

Chapter 4: Knowing What to Do

Summary:
The author begins by using the example of a Lego motorcycle to explain the importance of physical, semantic, cultural, and logical constraints. After other examples related to doors and switches, the author discusses visibility and feedback as other relevant principles.

Discussion:
I can agree with the ingenuity of Lego's. I hardly ever looked at the instructions as a kid and because of Lego's good design it was easy to tell where things should go.

Book Reading #12 - Coming of Age in Samoa

Chapter 4: The Samoan Household

Summary:
The author discusses a lot of different aspects of the Samoan household. A few of which are how rank is determined by age, the taboo placed on brothers and sisters, the details of asking a favor, or how the heads of the households are chosen.


Discussion:
It is always interesting to see how other cultures behave. I actually like the Samoan method of asking for a favor. It is more of a give and take then simply asking to take.

Book Reading #13 - Opening Skinner's Box

Chapter 3: On Being Sane in Insane Places

Summary:
The author describes the experiment done by Rosenhan in which Rosenhan pretended to hear a voice in his head that said "thud" to see if he will be admitted to a psych ward even though he is faking. It turns out he is admitted and this ends up having an effect on the diagnosis of mental problems. Later, the author tries the same experiment and ends up only being prescribed various pills.

Discussion:
While I did find the experiment interesting, I don't know what the author expected to happen. I would be more concerned if I went to a hospital saying that I hear voices and have them tell me that there is most likely nothing wrong with me.

Book Reading #8 - Design of Everyday Things

Chapter 3: Knowledge in the Head and in the World

Summary:
The author begins by describing four reasons imprecise knowledge can can lead to precise behavior. The reasons are because information is in the world, great precision is not required, natural constraints are present, and cultural constraints are present. He explains all of theses and then discusses and explains the three categories of memory: memory for arbitrary things, memory for meaningful relationships, and memory through explanation. The author ends by explaining the trade-offs between knowledge in the world and knowledge in the head. 

Discussion:
I really enjoyed this chapter. It reminds me of several things i can only remember in precise situations. For example, if I try to sing a song I will most likely not remember all the words but if I hear someone start the song I can almost always magically remember all the rest of it. I tried to see if I could identify the real penny on page 57, but unfortunately I could not.

Book Reading #9 - Coming of Age in Samoa

Chapter 3: The Education of a Samoan Child

Summary:
The author begins by explaining the birth rituals in Samoa. She then discusses how much of the raising of a child is done by the next oldest sibling. She goes on to talk about the duties that a child must learn which are different for boys and girls.

Discussion:
I found it interesting how stressful it is to be a chief. While in America I think everyone would like to be president, being the chief seems like more of a burden than a power trip.

Book Reading #10 - Opening Skinner's Box

Chapter 2: Obscura

Summary:
The author describes the experiment of professor Milgram. Milgram had people shock someone based on their responses. The experiment was to see how high of a setting people would shock others to be obedient. The results were shockingly high. The author then describes an interview with a subject who stopped shocking and a subject who did not.

Discussion:
I personally am not all that shocked at the results. I do not believe that mankind is inherently good or evil, but I do believe that most are simply neutral. This is by far my favorite reading out of the ones we have done so far.

Dr. Celine Latulipe: Exploring the Design Space in Technology-Augmented Dance

Reference Information:
Title: Reference Information:
Title: Exploring the Design Space in Technology-Augmented Dance
Author: Celine Latulipe
David Wilson
Sybil Huskey
Melissa Word
Arthur Carroll
Erin Carroll
Berto Gonzalez
Vikash Singh
Venue: CHI 2010   

Summary:
The Dance.Draw project is the technological representation of dancers movements. The dancers are fitted with motion sensing equipment of various different types, and images on a screen behind them are altered based on the dancers movements. As a result of this project, the audience focused on the link between the dancers, mice and visuals.

Discussion:
I believe that this is a very unique use of technology. While I do question why there could not be a prerecorded visual shown in the background instead of real time motion capture visualizations, I understand that by using the motion capture makes each dance unique. After all, many people enjoy seeing the same play done by different actors because they are unique and bring something special to the stage.

Ethnography Proposal

Observing traffic violations at a four way stop,

The plan for this week would be to sit at a bench near a four way stop and simply count the number of cars and bikes that pass. I will most likely have some separate columns for violations and a column for no violations. I plan on writing abbreviation such as BMC or RWB for "blue car driven by a man" or "red bike ridden by a woman." The problems I anticipate are the cold weather and the fact that I have no control over how many vehicles will appear at the four way stop at a time. This could lead to a smaller amount of data than I would like.

1) What type of group of people are you planning to study? 

People driving vehicles at a four way stop.

2) What do you want to or expect to learn from these people?

If there is a correlation between colors of vehicles/types of vehicles/gender of drivers and traffic violations or aggression (such as honking the horn unnecessarily.

3) How you are going to study them two hours per week?

Sit at a four way intersection and make note of what happens

4) What quantitative data would you record?

Number and type/color of vehicles that do not obey traffic laws at a four way stop

5) What qualitative data would you record?

Whether pedestrians are courteous and yield the rite of way to drivers. How aggressive drivers of different vehicle types appear to be while driving. How many drivers are on the phone.

 

6) How are you planning to interact with the people you are observing?

 I could attempt to cross the street and yield the rite of way to a vehicle and see if they make some gesture of gratitude or simply ignore me.

Paper Reading #5: Creating Salient Summaries of Home Activity Lifelog Data

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: Creating Salient Summaries of Home Activity Lifelog Data
Author: Matthew L. Lee
Venue: CHI 2010   

Summary:

The author discusses how it is currently difficult to differentiate between elderly people who are capable of living independently from those who are not. In his dissertation, the author describes how he plans to design a system that would be able to monitor the elderly when they are performing Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs). These activities such as taking medicine or making breakfast are necessary for elderly people to live independently. This system would keep track of the adequacy of these tasks and the information would be available for doctors or family members.

Disscussion:
This was a very interesting dissertation. I believe that this could be a useful technology, but we aren't given a lot of information in the dissertation as to how this will be accomplished. I also am curious how the system will be able to stop people from cheating, such as removing medicine from its container but not actually ingesting it. As with the past few paper readings I have been assigned, I am very interested in the theory but would like to see some concrete information before giving predictions of its usefulness.

Paper Reading #4: The Role of Tangible Technologies for Special Education

Comments:

Reference Information:
Title: The Role of Tangible Technologies for  Special Education
Author: Taciana Pontual Falcão
Venue: CHI 2010   

Summary:
The author first addresses the technological needs of children with learning disabilities. She then discusses how she believes tangibles could be used to help those with special needs. She breaks her work into two pieces. The first is the relationship between tangibles and peer collaboration. The second is effect of tangibles on the main difficulties of children with special needs. She concludes by exploring several aspects that can vary in her research such as participants, learning domain, technologies, and empirical studies.

 Discussion:
I truly believe that this work will be a great success when it is actually put in practice. The only problems I had with the article stem from the fact that she has not put this plan into action. She was very general on most topics and there is no real data yet because she has not actually started this work yet. I understand the importance of writing this paper before she has actually started the project, I am just eager to see the results of her work.